Recipe of the Week

Many, many months ago, I claimed I was going to post a recipe every week. I think I did it three times, I can't remember. I'm going to go ahead and give it another try, because I'm always cooking and trying new recipes. Today I am going to share a couple of my favorite bread machine recipes. I use my bread machine three or four times per week - - I love my bread machine.

This first recipe is for Oatmeal Pizza Crust. I use this every Monday, because Monday night is "pizza night" in our home. I love pizza night because it is so simple, and the boys love it. My Aunt Jean shared a recipe for veggie pizza with me a few years back, and this is the crust from that recipe.

Oatmeal Pizza Crust

3/4 cup warm water
2 tbsp. peanut oil (I usually use canola)
1 tsp. salt
1 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oats (I like to use different things here - - sometimes rolled oats, sometimes steel cut oats, and for extra crunch, some 7-grain cereal)
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. yeast

Add ingredients in bread machine as suggested by manufacturer; select "dough" cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough to a lightly floured surface. Flatten out and roll into a 12" circle. Place on pizza pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Form a rim by pinching the edges of the dough. Lightly brush the surface of the dough with some oil, and prick dough randomly with a fork. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and par bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Add desired toppings and return to oven and bake for 10 minutes.

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This next recipe is the bread I make each week (2-3 times!) for our standard loaf of bread. This one is Steve's favorite. I like it too, as it stays quite moist, and tastes great. I love to toast it for breakfast, and spread some cashew butter on it.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread
(1 1/2 pound loaf)

1 cup, plus one tablespoon of warm water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. shortening
1 tbsp. dry milk
1 tsp. yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine and press start! I prefer to use the "dough" cycle, and when the cycle is over, I knead the dough lightly, then place in a bread pan and let rise to double. Then, I bake it in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.